Boarding School
by Heartstringsxxx
Summary: Based off of a Tumblr Prompt. AU. Gail and Holly go to a boarding school. Gail continually plays pranks on Holly. The two hate each other. One summer Gail is forced to stay at the boarding school instead of going to Europe. She learns Holly spends every summer at the boarding school because her parents died. The two eventually fall in love over the summer.
1. Chapter 1

Gail recognized the familiar sound of Traci's footsteps tapping across the tiled floors as she walked farther into the boarding school's semi-communal shower room. Gail slid the shower curtain open and yanked Traci into the cubicle without a word.

"What the hell?!" Traci squealed in surprise as she threw a hand out to steady herself.

"Gail, what the-"

"Shh!" Gail warned as she covered Traci's mouth with her hand to silence her. Traci raised her eyebrows in confusion but obliged with a nod, causing Gail to drop her hand in satisfaction. Traci's eyes wandered around the rest of the small shower cubicle. Confusion etching deeper on her face as she saw Andy and Chloe crammed in the corner fully clothed with mischievous smiles adorning their faces.

"Look," Traci began in a whisper, "as flattering as this is, I am going to have to decline whatever freaky sex orgy you all are about to get in. I don't do orgys" Traci said resolutely. "Or women" she added with a pointed look towards Gail.

"Oh shut it Nash" Gail snapped, ignoring the snorts of laughter from Andy and Chloe. "We don't want to have an orgy. I'd rather dive head first into smouldering lava than see any of you three naked".

Traci bit her lip to contain her smile. "Ok, so what am I doing here then?"

"Gail switched out Holly's shampoo for bright pink hair dye. She's in the third cubicle down from us. We're all waiting for her reaction when she sees it" Andy replied in excitement.

"Gail" Traci sighed in disapproval. This was the third year of Gail's ongoing vendetta of playing pranks on Holly. Traci didn't understand Gail's -or any of their other friends- fascination with continuously pranking Holly year after year. Traci could admit that the first year of pranks was fun and she was even a willing participant of them. Traci didn't think she had ever laughed so hard then when they finished shaving Holly's cat to make him look like a disproportionate lion. Or after they had successfully moved everything in Holly's dorm room six inches to the left, causing Holly to limp around for a week completely flustered. But after the first few pranks she quickly stopped. No matter how funny it had been, seeing Holly so upset time and time again made the pranks lose their appeal. Traci couldn't understand how Gail could be so immune to her own cruelty sometimes. She wished her friends would have grown tired of these petulant pranks by now. Or at least picked another victim and left Holly alone. But sadly after three years, it seemed that they were still in full force much to Traci's disappointment.

"Everyone quiet she just walked out of the shower!" Chloe whispered in glee much louder than she should have as she pointed towards the mirrors.

"Quiet down Mary Poppins" Gail spat before turning her head in the direction Chloe was pointing. Everyone followed Chloe's finger and watched as Holly leisurely made her way up to the mirrors. One towel wrapped tightly around her body and the other drying her hair. Even from a distance everyone could see the tint of pink in Holly's hair. Andy and Chloe sniggered for the inevitable freak out Holly was about to have. Gail silently slid the shower curtain open further and crouched down into a running position, the whole time never moving her eyes off Holly.

It was only a moment later when Holly's scream pierced the room. Gail, Andy, and Chloe tripped over each other laughing hysterically as they ran out of the room. Even after the door had shut Gail could still hear Holly's threat echo in her ears.

"Gail Peck you are so dead!"

Gail just laughed harder as she, Andy, and Chloe quickly made their way down the stairs towards the cafeteria for breakfast. A few celebratory donuts were definitely in order after their success. None of them noticed Traci was still in the shower room attempting to calm down a very upset Holly.


	2. Chapter 2

"Spill it Peck" Dov demanded as he dropped his lunch tray on the table with a thud. The force causing a spoonful of soup to cascade over the brim of the bowl and splash across his tray.

"Looks like you already got that covered Dov" Gail noted as she greedily shoved a handful of cheese puffs into her mouth.

"Hilarious Gail" Dov replied sarcastically. Before Gail could respond Chloe reached over and quickly wiped away the spill with a napkin, beaming at Dov and kissing his cheek in greeting. Dov smiled back and leaned in to kiss Chloe on the mouth.

"Hey!" Gail spat as she threw a cheese puff at them. "Can't you see there are children here?" Gail questioned as she motioned to Chris sitting next to her. Without letting Chris speak she pointed at the two of them and narrowed her eyes. "No one should be subjected to the trauma of watching you two sad creatures kiss".

"It's nice to see you're time in the Principal's Office hasn't changed you're bubbly personality" Dov teased. He leaned in once more and kissed Chloe, making sure to linger longer than necessary just to irritate Gail more.

"I think I am going to be sick" Gail commented as she turned her gaze away in disgust. The rest of the table just watched in amusement, but remained quietly eating their lunch.

"So Gail, how much trouble did you get in?" Dov asked once he pulled back from Chloe. "I heard Principal Barber came in to your English class this morning and dragged you down to his office. We all thought you got expelled. Barber never does that unless he expels kids".

"Everyone thought that huh?" Gail wondered aloud as she glared at the rest of the table, her eyes lingering on Traci a moment longer than the rest of them. She had to admit she had been quite terrified that was going to be her fate when Principal Barber made her sit down next to a furious Holly.

"Oh Gail come on, we care about you. We wanted to make sure you were okay" Chris explained.

"I have cleaning duties until summer starts and I have to pay for Holly to get her hair fixed" Gail answered briefly, ignoring Chris' comment.

"That's it? That isn't bad at all" Dov replied. Gail shrugged noncommittally. She agreed; her punishment could have been a lot worse. She had definitely gotten off easy.

"I'm actually a bit disappointed. I thought her hair would look a lot more pink. You can't really tell unless you're under the right lighting" Chloe added.

"Do you want some help with the cleaning?" Chris asked way too eagerly. Gail rolled her eyes. She had made out with Chris one time three years ago, and ever since then he had been following her around like a love sick puppy. Even after she had clarified to him dozens of times that she was not interested. He still never lost hope and always tried to appease Gail. She almost felt bad for him, he clearly needed to find a girlfriend or get laid.

"I'm fine Chris. I can handle it myself" Gail answered. "No thanks to Traci over there" she shot at her friend across the table.

"Oh don't hand me that Gail. You did it to yourself. If you wouldn't have dyed Holly's hair in the first place you wouldn't have even gotten in trouble to begin with".

"No, if you wouldn't have opened your big, fat, traitorous mouth I wouldn't have gotten in trouble. Holly would have never gone to Barber if you wouldn't have suggested it".

Traci scoffed. "Maybe Holly finally had had enough of your crap Gail. Pick on someone else for once".

Gail stood up and slammed her hands onto the table; her eyes narrowing into slits and her jaw tightening in anger. Traci's eyes widened in shock and the rest of the table fell eerily silent. A million insults rested on the tip of Gail's tongue, designed for the sole purpose of hurting her so-called friend.

Gail wasn't mad because of Traci's words. That wasn't the case at all. In fact, Gail internally agreed with Traci. She should pick on someone else. The only reason Gail had never stopped her pranking was because Holly never stood up for herself. She never went to the administration to complain. For all Gail knew, Holly was one of those masochists who enjoyed being pranked. No one else at the boarding school would have tolerated Gail pranking them once, let alone for years. But, after listening to Holly's tirade in Principal Barber's office for over an hour, she had a newfound respect for Holly for finally sticking up for herself after all this time; even though she would never admit it. From now on, Gail was going to leave Holly alone. She would find someone else to direct her pranks towards.

The real issue for Gail was Traci's obvious betrayal of their friendship. She had gone behind Gail's back and readily turned her in without batting an eye. Gail had a hard time trusting people; but she had always trusted Traci. Gail's most important moral was loyalty, ingrained in her since before she could talk by her parents. She regarded loyalty as a strong fabric of any friendship. Traci's nonchalant dismissal of this unsaid loyalty between them hurt Gail. It hurt her even more that Traci was still misconstruing the reason behind her anger; especially since Traci was the one who understood her the most out of all of their friends. Before Gail could utter the multitude of insults at the tip of her tongue an older man's voice calling her name caught her attention. She spun around to see Mr. Shaw standing a few feet away.

"Come with me Peck" he motioned. Gail hesitated as she eyed him. While Oliver Shaw was her favorite teacher, he was also the school's unofficial 'grief' counselor. If something bad would happen to a student's family, or any other precarious incident, he was the one who would always break it to that student. A tight knot began to form in the pit of Gail's stomach as she watched his unreadable expression. A sense of utter foreboding coursed through Gail's body as she felt the air leave her lungs. Had something happened to her brother? Or parents? Was she about to find out that one of them had been killed on duty? Gail was frozen in place; the air around her thick with tension and fear.

Oliver must have sensed Gail's sudden shift in mood because his face instantly softened. "You're family is fine Gail. No one is hurt".

Gail breathed a sigh of relief, the sudden veil of fear quickly thrown away and replaced with her stoic expression. She took several steps towards Oliver as the man turned around.

"You're mother is here though and insisted she had to speak with you immediately" he added as he led Gail briskly out of the cafeteria. Gail's heartbeat pounded in her chest. She had a dreaded feeling that someone in the Peck family was about to get seriously hurt, and that someone was her.


	3. Chapter 3

"Oliver?"

"What is it Peck?" Oliver asked over his shoulder.

"Slow down a second" Gail demanded in a shaky voice.

Oliver stopped and turned to face Gail. He was well aware of the strained relationship between Gail and her mother. Gail absolutely dreaded being anywhere near the woman and would no doubt try any attempt to stall the interaction. Oliver was well aware of this, and knew he couldn't let Gail get away with it. "What's the matter Peck?"

"You can still redeem yourself in my eyes. Just go in there and tell my mother I'm not here".

"Hm, and what do you suggest I say when she wants to know why you're not here?"

"I don't know!" Gail replied exasperatingly. "Make something up!"

"You know I am a terrible liar Peck"

"How are you a terrible liar?" Gail asked in disbelief. " You're an adult!"

Oliver shot her a genuine look of confusion. "What does being an adult have to do with being a good liar?"

"Uh, because you have had years more to practice lying than kids" Gail stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Oliver chuckled. "Peck, that doesn't even make sense".

"It makes perfect sense!" Gail defended. "You-"

Oliver cut in before Gail could begin to explain. "Peck, as much as I would love a glimpse into the reasoning of a teenager, you're mother is waiting. So let's go".

"Alright fine" Gail sighed exasperatingly. "Tell her," she paused, biting her lip in concentration as she thought of a good excuse. "Oh, I know!" she continued, her face lighting up enthusiastically a moment later. "Tell her I got eaten by a bear!"

Oliver's eyebrows shot up, an equal mixture of disbelief and amusement flashing across his face. "You want me to tell your mother you got eaten by a bear?"

"Yes! Tell her we were all hiking and a bear popped out. I fought him off with my mad ninja skills while everyone else escaped. But it ate me in the process. Make sure you tell her I fought valiantly and saved a lot of people".

"Peck that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard" Oliver breathed out through his laughter.

Gail glared at Oliver. "Well I'm sorry. It was the best I could come up with at the moment" she spat sarcastically.

Oliver smiled amusingly at her, completely unfazed by her harsh tone. "Now Peck, I know you can do better than that".

Gail narrowed her eyes at Oliver's challenge. "Fine" she huffed. "How about I was kidnapped?"

Oliver frowned, all hints of playfulness gone from his features. "Kidnapped?" he repeated, hoping that Gail wouldn't really stoop that low to avoid talking with her mother.

"Yes, kidnapped" Gail paused momentarily to increase the buildup to her punch line. "Tell her I was kidnapped by Big Foot in the middle of the night".

Oliver rolled his eyes, the tension in his posture vanishing as he realized Gail was just joking. "I think that one is worse than the bear idea".

"Well then just use the bear story!"

Oliver sighed heavily. "Gail," he began in a serious tone. "Come on. Just go talk to her. It won't be that bad". Oliver decided to ignore Gail's snort and continued undeterred. "She's not here because of the incident earlier" he assured genuinely. "The sooner you go and talk to her the sooner you'll be done. Ok?"

Gail breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed her shoulders, the tension in them dissipating at the simple movement. Although Gail would never admit it, she was worried her mother was here because Principal Barber had told her about earlier. Her mother loved criticizing her and would probably welcome the opportunity to do so after she found out about Gail's shenanigans. But, if her mother wasn't here to scold her, what else could she be here for? Couldn't a simple phone call have worked better than coming in person? Gail sighed. There was no use contemplating the reasons for her mother's visit. She would find out soon anyway.

"Alright. Lets get this over with" she relented grumpily.

Oliver smiled and motioned for her to continue following him. Gail reluctantly fell into step behind him once again. Several moments of silence passed before Gail spoke again.

"How about bitten by a werewolf?"

"Nope"

"Bird Flu?"

"Keep trying"

"Vampire?"

Oliver laughed. "Peck, I think I can make a pretty decent case that you're already a vampire".

Gail scowled. "Hilarious. I've never heard that one before" she muttered sarcastically. "Zombie Apocalypse?"

Oliver's laughter filled Gail's ears and it made her smile. "I think that one could work Peck".

"Told you I would think of something good" she retorted.

Oliver stopped at the door and turned around, a genuine smile on his face. "Yes, that you did Peck. You ready?" he tilted his head towards the door.

Gail's walls immediately came back up, the tension in her body returning full force, as she stood up tall, and wiped away all traces of a smile. "No" she answered honestly.

"It'll be fine" Oliver assured as he patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"Easy for you to say. She isn't your mother".

"Just get this over with and then later come by my office, I will have a fresh box of donuts for us".

Gail perked up at this information. "Really?"

"Yup, really".

"The chocolate ones with chocolate icing right?" Gail asked.

"Of course Peck! I do have taste after all".

"You sure we can't ditch this and just go eat now?" Gail pleaded, trying one last feeble attempt to get out of seeing her mother.

"No can do Peck. Get in there" Oliver commanded lightly. He simultaneously grabbed the door handle and Gail, shoving the woman into the room and closing it before Gail had a chance to reply.

"Hello Gail. So nice of you to finally show up" a woman's voice said.

Gail looked up into her mother's disapproving eyes. She took a deep breath and let it out silently, hoping to prepare herself for what was about to come. "Hello Mother".

Gail stood staring at the closed door long after her mother had left. She was in complete shock. Her mother had informed her that there summer plans to travel through Europe were now being canceled. Her parents had decided at the last minute that heading some sort of police sabbatical all summer throughout Canada was more important than spending the summer with their daughter. So now, instead of being in Paris in four weeks, she was going to be stuck in this boarding school all summer. _How could she do this? _What does her mother expect her to do all summer in this boarding school? No one will even be here!

Dozens of emotions washed through Gail like a giant, storm induced wave. She wasn't sure which one should take precedent. She didn't know why she was so shocked her mother had once again chosen her job over her own daughter. It always happened. It was one of the reasons Gail was sent to a boarding school to begin with. So her parents could work as much as they wanted without having to worry about feeding dinner to a kid every night.

No, she wasn't surprised her mother bailed once again. She was surprised her mother would make her stay at the boarding school all summer though. Did her parents not trust her enough to stay at home? She could get a job if she had to. She could even stay at an aunt or uncle's house. Anything would be better than being stuck in this school in the middle of nowhere all summer.

Gail sighed and heaved the door open to the office. She knew she had given her mother enough time to leave. So the prospect of running into her again had vanished. Gail briskly began to walk down the hall back to her dorm room. After today, all she wanted to do was lie in bed and hope this day had been a dream.

Gail turned the corner quickly, deeply immersed in her own thoughts to be paying attention to what was in front of her. The moment she turned the corner she smacked hard into someone, causing a bouquet of lilies and sheets of paper to scatter everywhere. Gail looked up at the person, a string of insults on the tip of her tongue.

But when she saw that it was Holly she had run into she bit her lip. After this morning Gail vowed that she would make a better effort to be polite to the girl.

When Holly registered that Gail was the person she knocked into her shocked expression quickly morphed into anger. "Unbelievable! You just don't give up do you?"

"Huh?"

Holly scoffed, "Don't act all innocent. You know exactly what I am talking about! How long have you been waiting here? Or is one of your friends down the hall alerting you of my presence?"

Realization dawned on Gail and she looked at Holly in disbelief. "Wait, you think I ran into you on purpose?" The look on Holly's face indicated that is exactly what she thought. Gail just stared at her dumbfounded. She wanted to retort back with a lieu of insults, but she reframed from doing so. She was going to try and be polite to Holly from now on, even if Holly wasn't making it easy for her.

"Holly it was an accident" Gail replied truthfully.

"Oh, right of course. Just like my hair right?" Holly pointed to her hair still tinted a faded pink. "Or my cat?" Holly took a step forward and narrowed her eyes at Gail. "Or any of the other hundreds of pranks you have played on me in the last few years?"

Gail closed her eyes momentarily to shove the anger rising inside her back down. She had no right to yell back at Holly. She deserved every word Holly was throwing at her. She knew she had to stand there and let Holly do this. It was only fair after everything she had done. She would just have to take it, even if every thought in her brain circled around fighting back.

"Holly, it was an accident okay?" Gail muttered once Holly had stopped to take a breath. Before Holly could start again Gail bent down and began to pick up the crumpled and disfigured flowers.

"Don't touch those" The tone of Holly's voice made Gail freeze. A hand immediately shoved her back and she dutifully stepped away. Holly knelt down and gently began to pick the flowers up.

Gail's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. _ Why is Holly so distraught over flowers? _ Gail noticed Holly's back rise and fall rapidly. Gail heard a distinct, almost imperceptible sniffle come from the girl. _Was Holly seriously crying over a bunch of flowers?_

"Holly?" Gail said hesitantly.

"Go away" Holly managed in a shaky voice.

Gail's patience was beginning to run thin. She hated it when people cried in front of her. She never knew what to do. She always felt so awkward. But the fact that it was Holly crying in front of her just seemed to make it worse.

"Look, if you're seriously that upset about a bunch of stupid flowers, I'll go buy you some new ones". The moment Gail uttered those words she immediately regretted it. Holly's whole body instantly stiffened; the quiet sobs stopping.

"They're not just a bunch of stupid flowers!" Holly said through her clenched jaw.

"I'm s-"

"No!" Holly cut in before Gail had a chance to apologize again. "Don't say another word Gail. You have already caused enough damage. Just leave me alone. Now".

"Hol-"

"Leave me alone!" Holly said more forcefully.

Gail took a step back and slowly walked around Holly. Once she was a few feet away she turned back around to see Holly's body shaking again. "I'm sorry" Gail whispered loud enough for Holly to hear. Gail turned around and ran down the hall as quickly as she could. _What the hell just happened?_


	4. Chapter 4

"Just do it Steven" Gail demanded into the phone.

"Nope. Not until you tell me why".

Gail bit back the retort on the tip of her tongue. As much as she wanted to tell Steve it was none of his business she knew he wouldn't budge until she told him. But what could she say? How could she explain something that she didn't even understand herself? She had experienced guilt before. But, she never felt guilt to the extent of wanting to right the wrong she had done. Especially since running into Holly had truly been an accident. Why did she feel such an overwhelming need to try and fix her mistake? Why was she going to such great lengths to show Holly how truly sorry she was? Why did she even care what Holly thought about her?

"Gail? I'm waiting" Steve said through the phone, bringing Gail out of her thoughts.

Gail sighed. "Because Steve, I need them".

"Gail, you expect me to go get a bouquet of lilies from the best florist in Toronto and get two tickets to Toronto comic con by tomorrow for you without any explanation? Who are you and what have you done with my sister?" Steve teased.

Gail groaned. Steve was right. This was completely uncharacteristic of her. She was certain she had never gone to this extent to apologize before. But, in fairness she didn't know what to really get Holly as a gift. She didn't know the girl all that well. Sure, the flowers made sense because she had destroyed the other ones. But, she didn't feel like that was adequate enough for the utter devastation Holly had shown. So, she had thought Holly might want the comic con tickets. Holly was a major nerd after all and what nerd didn't want to go to comic con? None that Gail could think of.

"Alright look. I kind of messed up and I need the stuff to apologize. Ok?"

"Well well. I never thought I would see the day that Gail Peck would apologize to anyone. My little sister is growing up," Steve teased lightheartedly.

"Shut up Steve" Gail shot back defensively. "Will you just do it?"

"Hmm. It depends".

"On what?" Gail asked impatiently.

"On whether or not you'll answer my next question".

"What is it Steve?"

"Are you apologizing to a particular girl?"

Steve's insinuation was not lost on Gail. She scowled even though Steve couldn't see it. "Ugh it's not like that Steve".

"Uh huh. Of course its not" Steve retorted playfully.

"Steve get your mind out of the gutter and just get me what I asked alright?" Gail's patience was running thin. She didn't have time for Steve's ludicrous thinking. Why couldn't she just get something nice for someone as an apology? Why did he always have to read into it?

"Yes I will get it for you. But I expect details soon".

"Whatever. Just be here before school starts tomorrow". Gail knew she was never going to give Steve details. Mainly because there weren't any details to even talk about. Without waiting for Steve's response she hung up and looked at the time. If she was lucky she would still make it to dinner before the dining hall closed.

Gail nervously shuffled her feet and took a deep breath. She had been staring at Holly's closed door for the last five minutes, unable to will her body to knock. She knew she probably looked ridiculous standing out in the hallway holding a large bouquet of flowers. But she didn't care. After successfully dodging more of Steve's noisy questions she carefully made her way up to Holly's dorm room with purpose. But once she arrived in front of it she suddenly felt nervous. Was she doing the right thing? Would Holly appreciate or even understand why she was doing this? Would Holly even forgive her? _Probably not_ Gail told herself. But at least Holly would see she made an effort. That was all that really mattered. She didn't care if Holly forgave her.

Gail took another deep breath. _Screw it_ she thought and moved her hand up to the door. She knocked and waited with baited breath for any signs of life behind the door.

"It's unlocked," a voiced yelled from inside. Gail pushed the door opened and swaggered in, keeping her face stoic and unreadable. She glanced around the tiny room expecting to see Holly. Instead, her gaze fell on a vaguely familiar person perched on one of the two beds in the room. The girl had a book in her hands and was curiously looking at her.

As soon as the girl recognized Gail her curiosity was replaced by fury. She immediately sat up, her posture defensive, and her eyes narrowed angrily.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"Where's Holly?" Gail asked, ignoring the girl's question.

"That's none of your business! Why are you here?"

"I need to speak to Holly" Gail replied.

The girl snorted. "Not a chance. You've done enough to her" the girl spat, rising off her bed to take several steps towards Gail.

Gail quirked her eyebrow in amusement, thoroughly enjoying how worked up this girl was getting. She decided she would have some fun while she waited for Holly to come back to her room. "Heel boob job"

The girl's eyebrows almost reached her hairline. "Excuse me? What the hell did you just call me?" her voice rising several octaves higher than normal.

"You're Holly's friend. I remember you saying you wanted to be a plastic surgeon in Mr. Callaghan's class once. So, boob job seems pretty fitting to me" Gail answered as if it were obvious. Her brow furrowed a moment later. "Although you don't seem to catch on very quickly. So maybe botched boob job might be more fit?" she smirked.

"That's rich coming from you. I'm surprised you can even dress yourself in the morning".

Gail rolled her eyes. "I'm disappointed. I expected something better from you". Gail took several steps towards the other bed, deducing that it must be Holly's.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" the girl asked as she stepped sideways to block Gail from moving forward.

Gail squinted at the girl. "Has anyone ever told you that you have tiny arms? They're like Tyrannosaurus Rex sized. It's really weird. You should probably fix that after the botched boob jobs you do".

"You're unbelievable. I'm going to get a teacher," the girl threatened as she began walking towards the door.

"You do that. I'll be here waiting" Gail said to piss the girl off even more.

The girl scowled, obviously conflicted on whether or not to leave Gail alone in the room. Gail just smiled widely at her, almost as a sort of challenge. Before the girl could properly decide what to do the door burst open and a distraught looking Holly walked in.

"Hols," her friend whispered. "What-" she trailed off when Holly lunged forward and dug her face into her neck, her whole body shaking with deep sobs; seemingly unaware of Gail's presence.

Gail immediately felt uncomfortable. She always hated it when people cried in front of her. She never knew what to do. She was never good at comforting people. But somehow it being Holly just made everything worse. Gail's guilt intensified at how defeated Holly seemed. _Was this all because I messed up her flowers? Is she really that upset about a bunch of stupid flowers? _ Gail wondered. She looked down at the bouquet and envelope in her hand, suddenly feeling like the gifts were entirely inadequate for the level of distress she had caused. _Maybe this idea was dumb. I should never have gotten this for her. Maybe I can sneak out without being noticed?_

Gail took a tiny step towards the door, hoping to go undetected. Unfortunately, the floorboard creaked underneath her, causing Holly's head to whip up at the noise. Surprise, confusion, and anger flitted across Holly's face in a matter of seconds.

"What are you doing here?" Holly asked.

"Umm, I came to give you these" Gail stammered. She thrust the bouquet forward towards Holly, watching the genuine surprise on Holly's face. "And um, to you know, apologize for ruining your other ones even though it was a complete accident" Gail justified. "But uh," Gail paused and rubbed her free hand on the back of her neck. "Anyway, here" she stepped forward and placed the flowers in Holly's hand.

"Thank you" Holly whispered cautiously.

"Of course. Oh and here is this too" Gail muttered as she thrust the envelope into Holly's other hand. "Right well, again sorry for everything" Gail said before running out of the door without a second glance.

"What the hell just happened?" Holly wondered aloud.

"I don't know. But I don't buy it Hols. She probably booby-trapped the flowers. Let me throw them away before something pops out of them" Lisa said as she reached for the flowers. But Holly quickly pulled them out of reach.

"Nonsense Lisa. These flowers are beautiful and must have cost a fortune". Holly walked over to her bed, wiping away the remnants of tears on her cheeks. She carefully placed the flowers on her bed and slowly began to open the envelope.

"Holly wait!" Lisa warned. "What if it's laced with anthrax?"

Holly looked up and gave Lisa a disbelieving look. "Lisa. Its not laced with anthrax".

"You're right. Gail probably doesn't even know what anthrax is" Lisa mused.

Holly rolled her eyes but decided not to start an argument with her friend. Holly finished opening the envelope and pulled out a card. She opened it and quickly began to read it.

_Dear Holly, _

_Sorry for being such an immature childish jerk to you. Also, sorry for destroying your flowers even though it was completely ACCIDENTAL. I thought these tickets and flowers could make up for it. I thought about getting you a cat groomer's number because your cat looks like Chewbacca after his bachelor party but figured these would be better. Not that your cat isn't nice. Its just __ugly__ a very interesting thing. __Shit. I'm already ruining this. __I'll stop now before it's too late. Your cat is fine. __Sorta._

_Sorry, _

_Gail_

Holly reread the note several times, a tiny smile playing at the corners of her lips. She finally glanced at the tickets that were resting inside the envelope. Her eyes widened when she realized they were two VIP tickets to the Toronto comic con over the summer. She was completely floored. She wasn't sure what to make of it. One thing for certain was, that Gail Peck might not be half bad after all.


End file.
